Amnesty International has welcomed the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution recognizing chattel enslavement of Africans as a crime against humanity, describing the move as a landmark victory for legal recognition and reparative justice.

Following the vote, a statement from the global human rights organization commended the resolution tabled by Ghana on behalf of the African continent and people of African descent. The measure passed with 123 member states in favour, three against, and 53 abstentions.

“Amnesty International welcomes the recognition of chattel enslavement of Africans as a crime against humanity at the U.N General Assembly, following a resolution tabled by Ghana on behalf of the African continent and people of African descent,” the organization said.

Highlighting the enduring impact of history, the statement stressed that the legacy of slavery and colonialism continued to inflict harm on communities worldwide, more than a century after the transatlantic slave trade was formally abolished.

“Across the world, people are still suffering the long-lasting effects of slavery and colonialism, manifesting in today’s racism and global inequality, while States and private actors profited from these historical injustices,” Amnesty International noted.

Describing its significance, the organization said the resolution marked a pivotal development in the decades-long push for reparatory justice, arguing that it establishes a clear basis for accountability and redress.

“Today’s resolution is a momentous step forward for legal recognition and reparations for those who have suffered the enduring harms of chattel enslavement around the world,” Amnesty said.

Spearheaded by Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the resolution formally declares slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as one of the greatest injustices against humanity. It calls on former slave-trading nations to engage in dialogue with African states and the African Union to address historical wrongs through concrete measures, which may include financial compensation, debt cancellation, development assistance, and the return of looted cultural artifacts.

Adding weight to the development, Amnesty International’s endorsement reflects a growing consensus among human rights organizations that reparatory justice is an essential component of addressing historical and ongoing racial inequality.

Underscoring broader responsibility, the statement also pointed to the role of both states and private entities that profited from slavery, signalling that accountability may extend beyond governments to corporations and institutions whose wealth was built on the exploitation of enslaved Africans.

Despite being non-binding, the resolution’s adoption with a commanding majority, coupled with strong endorsements from major human rights groups, is expected to intensify pressure on former colonial and slave-trading powers to engage substantively with reparations demands.

Here is the full text of President Mahama’s speech at the UN to commemorate International Day of Remembrance of victims of slavery

Madam President, Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen

Progress is made in steps. It’s the forward motion toward something better, and the changes are often incremental. Today marks the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

It is a day on which we honour the memory of the approximately 13 million African men, women and children who were enslaved over the course of several centuries.

We remember them through articles and oral histories, through broadcast programmes, books, music, visits to museums, monuments, and memorials, such as the Ark of Return, located right here at the Visitors Plaza of the United Nations Headquarters.

Through these activities, we do more than remember. We document and educate; we gain a greater perspective; we find the delicate balance of learning from history so we do not repeat it, while leaving the pain behind. In doing so, we begin to heal, individually, within our immediate communities, and within the global community.

This day of remembrance did not happen by accident. In 2006, our global community gathered here, just as we have done today, and resolved to designate the 25th of March of the following year, a Day of Remembrance. It marked progress.

Then the following year, in 2007, we decided to make the event an annual one, so the 25th March of every year would be the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. That marked an additional step in our forward motion.

It is, indeed, fortunate to be here today, two decades later, addressing the General Assembly on behalf of the African Group, regarding the draft resolution entitled “Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity.”

In September last year, at the 80th session of the General Assembly, I stated that Ghana would move a motion to declare the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity.

This draft resolution is the result of months of consultation and consensus-building by continental bodies, nations, experts, scholars, and jurists, with the sole aim of achieving a united front and grounding the final outcome in truth, compassion, and moral conscience, remembrance, education, and dialogue.

Today, we come together in solemn solidarity to affirm truth and pursue a route to healing and reparative justice. The adoption of this resolution serves as a safeguard against forgetting.

I conclude with two significant quotes by two great leaders, one white, one black.

Former President of the United States of America, Theodore Roosevelt, said, “With a great moral issue involved, neutrality does not serve righteousness; for to be neutral between right and wrong is to serve wrong.” Civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King, also reminds us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

We have travelled the long road, each step guided by a desire to be better, to do better; each step bringing us closer to the kind of world we would like to leave for our children.

On this beautiful day in March, we are called to stand on the right side of history. Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of the millions who suffered the indignity of slavery.

Let our vote on this resolution restore their dignity and humanity. I thank you.